In a typical sliding door installation, such as sliding patio doors, the door is latched by a mechanism mounted in the locked face of the stile of a sliding door. In a single-point latch mechanism, a single hook, or other latching component engages a receiving (keeper) component disposed in the door jamb to latch the door and maintain the door in a latched state. While single-point latch mechanisms often provide satisfactory performance, the use of a single hook often fails to provide the security desired by a homeowner.
In response to the desire for increased security by homeowners, multi-point latch mechanisms have been developed for use in sliding door installations. These multi-point mechanisms can be mounted in the locked face of the stile of the sliding door with multiple latching elements engaging a receiving structure mounted on door jambs. These multi-point latches increase the security of the latch mechanisms by providing additional locking strength, thereby diminishing the likelihood of forced entry.
A typical problem arising during installation of sliding door latches is that the latch elements may not securely engage with the keeper due to variations in construction. In these cases it is desirable to adjust the position of the latch elements, particularly the distance by which the latch elements project from the mechanism, or the keeper or both to attain secure engagement. Prior multi-point latch mechanisms, however, have sometimes included no adjustment mechanism at all for the latch elements, or have included complicated mechanisms requiring separate adjustments for each latching point. Further, while previous attempts have been made to provide a multi-point latch mechanism with a single adjustment point for simultaneously adjusting the position of more than one of the latch points, these attempts have resulted in mechanisms in which the adjustment mechanism shifts one latch point more than another. The result is still less than ideal latch engagement.
A further drawback of known adjustable multi-point latch mechanisms is that the range of adjustment of the mechanism is typically not visually evident. Hence, it cannot be readily determined whether the device is at or near one of the limits of travel without actually operating the adjustment until the limit is reached.
Thus, there still exists a need in the industry for a multi-point latch assembly that not only increases security, but which provides for quick and easy adjustment of the latches for proper engagement with the receiving structure.